Rugby Championship set for shake-up and Bledisloe Cup boost

Australian rugby fans are all too accustomed to having their Bledisloe Cup hopes snuffed out within the first two weeks of the Rugby Championship so it will come as good news that tournament boffins are plotting a major shakeup.

Fairfax Media understands SANZAAR will look to move away from the fixed schedule that has been in place since 2012 and consider options that will give the four-nations competition a different feel each year.

"Perhaps the most exciting challenge this year lies against Ireland and England." Duncan Johnstone writes that the Bledisloe rivalry is tarnished by apathy.Credit:AAP

The shake-up, considered as part of the 2021 broadcast deal talks, could break up the first two Bledisloe Cup fixtures which, in an era of All Blacks dominance, have led to a sharp drop-off in interest from Australian fans early in the competition.

Australians see themselves as ... capable of punching above their weight. In rugby, they are throwing tiny rabbit punches at our knees.

Duncan Johnstone, senior sports writer, stuff.co.nz

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But it could also placate an increasingly discontented South Africa who, under the current format, shoulder the bulk of the travel demands. The Springboks play three consecutive Tests on the road each year, the most of any of the four nations. Australia, Argentina and New Zealand each play two Tests away, but the All Blacks are the only nation to host three home games in a row.

The "SANZAAR 2030 strategy" paper addressed the issue, raising the prospect of rotating home double-header matches against a single nation. That format might see the Wallabies host two Tests against South Africa, then play two Tests away against Argentina one year, before swapping the next year. It would not break up the Bledisloe Cup fixtures but it might delay them until later in the tournament.

Even in New Zealand, where rugby enjoys little competition from rival sports, there are signs a change-up would be well-received. Despite All Blacks coach Steve Hansen's assertion that the Wallabies "closed the gap" between the teams with last year's win in the third Test, the rest of his countrymen and women remain unconvinced.

Big travellers: New Springboks captain Siya Kolisi during a Rugby Championship Test against New Zealand last yearCredit:AAP

"Australians are proud. They see themselves, like us Kiwis, as consistently capable of punching above their weight. In rugby, they are throwing tiny rabbit punches at our knees," was the assessment of Fairfax New Zealand columnist Duncan Johnstone.

Johnstone suggested apathy was tarnishing the storied rivalry between close neighbours.

"As Kiwis we still appreciate the Bledisloe Cup. Winning helps, but we will always watch it even if it remains one-sided.

"But even that is under a bit of pressure. Perhaps ... the most exciting challenge this year lies against Ireland and England.

"Maybe it's because Eddie Jones [so easily cast as a villain] is now guiding England, and we've got a Kiwi in Joe Schmidt driving Ireland to never before scaled heights that has attracted our attention. But the northern narrative has become more compelling in recent years.

"Short of a Springbok revival under Rassie Erasmus, there is less to be excited over in this upcoming Rugby Championship than there is over the northern tour, where we have a chance to demoralise Jones and England a year out from the World Cup and dent Ireland's confidence."

Back-to-back: Wallabies back rower Pete Samu clinched a second Super Rugby title with the Crusaders last week. Credit:AP

One player who was ready to embrace the rivalry was Pete Samu, who was still hoarse from celebrating a Super Rugby title win with his Crusaders teammates when he linked up with the Wallabies in the Hunter this week.

Samu arrived in camp on Wednesday night and hit the training paddock at Cessnock on Thursday, just four days after the Crusaders became back-to-back champions with a second consecutive win over the Lions.

"I was pretty excited to come back, I got through my first session after Saturday and [I have] come out pretty good," he said.

"I'm pretty excited to get around the boys again. It's good to see a lot of them and meet some of the new boys as well."